Five persons were confirmed dead on Saturday and five others missing after a boat accident along Lagos-Ikorodu waterways.
The mishap which occurred around Bayeku- Igbogbo in Ikorodu at about noon was said to have been caused by a steering problem, which the paddler could not control.
The boat was said to be coming from Oke Ira Nla jetty at Ajah.
Aside the bad condition of the boat, the crew were said to be inexperienced and over speeding.
It was gathered that the boat had 20 passengers and two crew, out if which 17 persons were rescued by local fishermen at Igbogbo jetty and rushed to different hospitals.
Of the 17 rescued, The Nation gathered that one died at Mica Hospital and four others passed on at Ikorodu General Hospital.
Confirming the development, the General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Micheal Akindele said the boat captain has been arrested and was being questioned by Marine Policemen from Ikoyi.
He said they got the call at about 1:29pm, more than an hour after the mishap.
Akindele confirmed there were 20 passengers and two crew on the boat, acknowledging that 17 persons have been found, with five confirmed dead.
“Our investigation revealed that 20 passengers were on board and two crew members(the captain and his assistant) before the mishap.
“15 passengers and 2 crew members were rescued by local fishermen around Bayeku jetty,Igbogbo.
“Four of the people rescued were taken to a hospital at Bayeku. Three of them are presently responding to treatment while one has been confirmed dead.
“Seven others among the rescued passengers were taken to Ikorodu General Hospital where four were confirmed dead, two were treated and discharged and one in critical condition.
“Those who have been confirmed dead include four adult males and a female. In all, 17 persons were recovered from the water,” Akindele said.m
Tag: Accident
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Five dead, others missing in Lagos boat mishap
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Nine OOU students injured in road accident
NINE students of the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) in Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, have been injured in a road accident, about four month after the death of nine of their colleagues in similar circumstances.
The accident occurred on Old Corperative Road in Ago-Iwoye last Thursday when the victims were returning to their off-campus hostels in Oru-Ijebu. They were travelling in a 14-seater bus.
It was gathered that the accident was caused by a brake failure, which made the vehicle to skid off its lane and crash into a roadside carwash.
Sympathisers rushed to the scene to rescue the occupants of the bus. The driver, it was learnt, ran away immediately after the incident. Occupants of the vehicle included nine students. No life was lost.
•Adewunmi’s fractured leg CAMPUSLIFE gathered that three of the injured students were referred to the OOU Teaching Hospital in Sagamu. They are Adewunmi Adekanbi, a 400-Level Applied Zoology student, Elizabeth Olawunmi Olapelumi, a 100-Level Mass Communication student, and Yetunde Ogunsawe, also in 100-Level Mass Communication.
Other occupants suffered minor injuries and had been discharged from the hospital.
Elizabeth, who spoke to our correspondent on her sickbed, recalled how the accident happened. She said: “We were all going back to our hostels in Oru-Ijebu after lectures. The bus left from the school, but we got to the main road, the driver increased the speed. As he tried to overtake a vehicle in front, he did not know there was a car moving across the other side of the road to a car wash. He tried to apply the brake but it failed. Then, the bus crashed into the car wash.”
Adewunmi, who went for her department’s Cultural Day, attributed the incident to the carelessness of the driver, saying: “The driver was carried away in discussion with a man sitting beside him. The next thing we saw was a crash.”
Reacting, students said the latest accident should serve as a reminder to officials of road safety agencies and the school management to ensure that vehicles plying the campus were in good condition.
Last month, a similar accident occurred when an 18-seater bus had a brake failure and crashed into the school main gate.
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Stray animal causes accident in Ibadan
•Nursing mum killed, baby survives
A middle-aged nursing mother died yesterday in an accident on the Ibadan-Abeokuta Expressway. Her eight-month old baby survived the incident.
It was gathered that a Toyota Sienna, with registration number Lagos BFG 113 DE, was travelling from Abuja to Abeokuta, Ogun State, when it landed in a ditch.
The deceased was among the seven passengers on board when the accident occurred at Eleso village at 12.15am yesterday.
A stray goat allegedly caused the accident.
The victim, identified as Mrs Jumoke Sodiq, was travelling for the Sallah celebration.
A police officer from the Traffic Section of the Apata Police Station, Ben Onoja, said the vehicle loaded its passengers from Abuja and was headed for Abeokuta, Ogun State.
According to some of the survivors, the driver was speeding when a goat suddenly crossed the road.
“In an attempt to avoid hitting the goat, the driver swerved and skipped off the road.
“The vehicle somersaulted several times before it ended in a ditch. We were shouting, unable to open the doors, until a Good Samaritan broke the windscreen. Many other people joined later to rescue us,” a survivor, Mrs Sadiat said.
An eyewitness, Lanre Amoo, narrated how the baby and her mother were discovered an hour after other passengers were rescued.
He said: “Many of us thought all the passengers have been rescued.
“It was more than one hour later when one of the passengers raised the alarm that there was still one more passenger in the car.
“So, immediately we rushed back into the bush and saw the woman’s leg trapped. We started lifting her out.
“But, we were surprised when her baby suddenly fell from her hand. We took the baby and brought the woman out. She was in a coma when we brought her out.
“There was no one at that hour to take her to the hospital, which is far away. We called the Apata Police Station for help, but the officer, Mr Sunday, said there was no fuel in their vehicle .
“We later discovered that the woman had died. The baby is still with us here; we are making effort to reach her relatives.”
The woman’s remains have been taken to the Adeoyo State Hospital. The baby is still with the police.
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C’River: Five die as vehicle plunges into river
At least five people are feared dead after a red coloured Toyota saloon car plunged into a river in Adim axis of the Calabar-Ikom Highway in Biase local government area of Cross River State on Tuesday morning, The Nation gathered Wednesday.
It was gathered that the vehicle which carried six passengers at Obubra Local Government Area was headed for Calabar when a tanker suddenly veered into its lane, forcing it off a bridge into the river.
An eye witness said the driver and a young woman managed to get out alive. Both were disorientated. The driver had gone partially deaf.
According to the eye witness, the young woman said she was in the vehicle with her boyfriend.
As at press time, the other five bodies as well as the vehicles had not been recovered.
The state of the Calabar-Ikom-Ogoja-Obudu Highway has been a source of worry for users because of its deplorable state.
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Akpabio thanks God for surviving accident
Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio has urged Nigerians, particularly the political class, to desist from politicizing disasters and tragedies.
Akpabio in a statement issued from London where he is receiving treatment after surging a car crash in Abuja said the political class should work towards the unity and progress of the country without any political or ethnic coloration.
He thanked God for his surviving the accident and said he remained grateful to Nigerians for their prayers and display of concern.
The former governor specifically thanked President Mohamadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osibajo, Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Dogara, his successor, Mr Udom Emmanuel, his colleagues in the National Assembly and former president Goodluck Jonathan for their concern and expression of love when the accident occurred.
He also expressed the appreciation of his family members to traditional and religious leaders, who he said have been calling on a daily basis to inquire about his well being. -
Auto crash: 14 killed, 30 injured on Lagos – Ibadan expressway
Fourteen persons were confirmed dead and other injured in an accident at the Ogunmakin stretch of the Lagos – Ibadan expressway when two trucks collided with each other.
The crash which occurred on Wednesday night involved a trailer bearing cows alongside 27 people atop the vehicle and another trailer with registration number XE 444 KTU caused not a small traffic gridlock.
The operatives of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Ogun state Command and the Police were sighted making frantic efforts to rescue victims – dead or alive, a witness told The Nation.
According to Ndidi Frederick-Imo, Deputy Route Commander and AG Zonal Public Education Officer of the FRSC, 20 persons were injured and rescued alive while 10 others were confirmed dead at the Ifeoluwa hospital in Ogunmakin.
Similar accident which also occurred at the same Ogunmakin stretch of the Lagos – Ibadan expressway few hours later on Thursday morning left four persons dead and 10 others injured.
The Thursday accident involved a diesel tanker with PMS from Lagos and marked MKA 338 ZB and a luxury bus with registration number AAA 656 XN coming from Abuja, crashed into each other.
Ndidi who made this known to The Nation, noted that the rescue efforts were carried out by FRSC operatives and the Nigeria Police Force with 50 people rescued.
The 10 injured passengers while the four that died in the accident were evacuated to Fakoya mortuary, Sagamu.
Ndidi said following the dangers associated with night journey, the FRSC’s Assistant Corps Marshal (Zone 2) Lagos, Nseobong Akpabio, has warned Nigerians to desist from embarking on night travels by road irrespective of enticement.
“We all know that night traveling is extremely dangerous and should not be encouraged by families, companies because night driving is fraught with more dangers than daytime driving due to poor visibility, drivers’ fatigue, and other associated human errors.
“The Assistant Corps Marshal Nseobong C. Akpabio (MON) enjoins the motoring public to be more careful on the road as the latest crash was due to loss of control and over speeding.
“Drivers should ensure that their vehicles are in good working condition including brake lights, reverse lights, turn signals and any functioning lights.
“We completely discourage all Nigerian from travelling at night irrespective of the emergency in view of its associated dangers /consequences.
“And all patrol teams have been briefed to carry out strict enforcement on all corridors and impound all non-roads worthy vehicles and test drivers who are susceptible to driving vehicles under the influence of alcohol or drugs and anyone arrested to be prosecuted.
“Fathers, Mothers, brothers, family members as well as companies and organizations to warn their relatives and staff not to embark on night journey as no amount of money or insurance can replace one’s life once lost,” Ndidi stated.
